Am I asking to much from 2x T105's?

Squeeze The Bulb

DIP the tip

Release the squeeze

s-l-u-r-p...

Ran trojan wet cell in our industrial equipment for 35 years. They tried gels and agm over the years but always went back trojan. Crown was pretty good too.
When they outsourced the management and the new guy was an ex dishwasher or whatever he would save them money on some cheep stuff. Next thing ya know his titty was in the ringer because the Cushman ambulance was dead at the far end of the plant or some guy was sitting on the picnic table on double time waiting for his JLG to charge. They would say what do we do? Ahhh ummm ah dunno know, maybe order some Trojans. Batteries, not condoms, junior.

Hi Mex,

What exactly is dipping cells?

Trojan has honest-to-god engineers and they actually have a say as to what the sales department can and cannot spout.

The trick is to MINIMIZE the formation of hardened sulfate on the positive plate. This is a major battery management goal. Another major battery management goal is to be master of the battery not the other way round. Myself I am lazy. I figure out the layback lenny way to manage my bank and then squeeze every last danged cent's worth out of it, including the cost of recharging and maintenance.

A stupid wind-up 6 hour timer connected to a VARIAC then a HARBOR FREIGHT charger is my best friend. I groan, arise from my chair, look at the voltmeter, decide how many hours to wind up the timer, go back to my chair and reach for a brewskie. I figure doing that once a week to be often enough. Once a month I dip the cells. Then I go wash the car. But not on Sunday or Monday night during football season.

I have a wool thingee (rag) I drape over my lap. I slip on a pair of dishwashing gloves, pair of safety glasses and spend a whopping twelve to fifteen minutes dipping 24 cells.

Going to the dentist. Now we talkin' something I HATE to do. Or unjamming a garbage disposal or dealing with something else in the outgoing plumbing.

Actually, the SG only tells you SOC when the batteries are like new.

Once they are somewhat sulfated with normal wear and tear or just plain sulfated, they are at lower capacity than when new, but they still show full voltage when full, but a lower SG at full.

So you have to "know your battery" and have your own version of the standard SG/SOC chart. Still need the hydrometer to tell where you are at.

Trojan Co. says it takes at least 14.8v or a bit more to fully charge T 105's to 100%. Less will do it but it takes a LOT longer and charging at the higher voltage help to desulphate the cells. A temp probe is also recommended. Your batteries will love you for it. What is the cut off voltage of your controller? Can you turn it up? A lot of the controllers are not adjustable. For what its worth! A Morningstar Tristar 45 works great for this! Charging in the winter with the shorter Solar hours at the higher voltage will get them topped off sooner also. USE A HYDOMETER!! only way to tell what your SOC is.

Wayne Dohnal wrote:

However, there is a distinction between AGMers mis/dis-information about AGMs and NON-AGMers crossing over to make provocative statements re AGMs.
......
If you don't have any instructions, you would do well to read Deka's.

...
Could some of the dis-information be coming directly from manufacturer's literature?

And AGMs really stink for number of discharge cycles. Deka says 370 cycles to 50% DOD, Trojan claims 1200 cycles for the T105.

I wrote Deka a few weeks ago about my 8a24M AGM and they replied with the link I provided.

Yes, cycles are important. A weekend camper might get 1200/50 = 24 years of service from those T-105s by camping every weekend and recharging the other five days.

HTH;
John

However, there is a distinction between AGMers mis/dis-information about AGMs and NON-AGMers crossing over to make provocative statements re AGMs.
......
If you don't have any instructions, you would do well to read Deka's.

With this one I've now seen 4 documents from Deka with 4 sets of AGM charging voltages. For instance, the document in the quote above says 13.8 to 14.6 absorb and 13.5 for float (at 77 deg F). This document http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/0139.pdf says 14.3 to 14.6 for absorb and 13.4 for float. The temperature compensation values for AGMs are different in different Deka AGM documents. Another Deka document I have says 14.1 to 14.4 for absorb and 14.4 to 14.58 for equalize, while Trojan sternly warns to NEVER equalize an AGM battery. Could some of the dis-information be coming directly from manufacturer's literature?

And AGMs really stink for number of discharge cycles. Deka says 370 cycles to 50% DOD, Trojan claims 1200 cycles for the T105.

marcindy wrote:
I posted a month or so ago about my new solar install, and some issues I was having with the low voltage alarm on my Xantrek 2000W Prowatt while running my coffee maker (Tassimo). I was able to check a little closer this time with a DMM, and confirmed that the E01 alarm (low I/P voltage) was coming on around 10.8V (not over 11 as originally thought)- although it was a little hard to hold the probes which running the coffee maker- either way, I think the inverter is working as expected (I think).
.....

Thanks in advance
Marc

Marc, I've been reading about this stuff lately and am NOT an expert.
How come you are letting your batteries get down to anywhere near 10.8V - that isn't good for them.

What is the voltage level when your system thinks they are full?
Are you sure you are truly charging your batteries to there full capacity?
You may not be operating your batteries in their optimal voltage range.
I have no idea how many batteries or what type you need. I just think you should make sure you are charging and using them properly before you invest in new ones.

marcindy wrote:
...
On a side note, I'm loving being able to work while in the trailer without the genny. It's just about to rain here, and solar is still putting out just of 100W, keeping my laptop/phone charged up.

I'm jealous. I am roof real estate constrained and cannot maintain full autonomy without the genny.

Oh, one more AGM advantage; they charge faster and cheaper. It is not a big factor and for you, even less with your solar capacity. AGMs have less internal resistance which means when you do roll out the genny, less fuel is wasted fighting resistance and more fuel goes into actual charging.

This lower resistance works in your favor during those inverter runs as well; more energy gets to the inverter with less heating of the battery.

If 6V GCs are designed for golf carts, don't these golf carts run hard for two days and then sit in the barn on a charger for five days? Reconcile that against dry camping for 8 or more days. Can you finish charge, top off, or saturation charge a 6V GC while it is in use? One thing is for sure, your bank will get fully charged by 470W solar while in storage between uses.

HTH;
John